Inupiaq Eskimos camped for centuries in the Nome area before Russia claimed Alaska as its own. In the 18th century, Russians established a settlement at St. Michael, 125 miles to the southeast. Fur traders and whales from many countries also worked the area coastline. A few church missions were established beginning in the 1880s, and trainers from Lapland (Norway) introduced reindeer herding to the Eskimos through the U.S. Government and missionaries.

Gold was discovered in the Nome area in 1898 by three Swedes, prompting formation of the Cape Nome Mining District. When gold was found on the beaches of Nome the following summer, word spread rapidly, and by August 1900 there were 20,000 people in Nome. There are still 44 gold dredges in the Nome area and gold mining continues today. The oldest first-class city in Alaska, Nome was incorporated in 1901.

By the 1920s, the boom town had shrunk to about 820 people. A fire in September 1934 destroyed most of the business district. Nome boomed again during World War II, when the federal government built an air base and support facilities. Thousands of aircraft and supplies moved through Nome under the Lend Lease program, supplying the Soviet Union for the Eastern Front. During the war, a number of Eskimos and other civilians came to Nome to work. [Source: http://www.inalaska.com/d/nome/history.html]